I
heard some yelling from the street below our hotel window. Across the street, six floors below, there
was a preacher shouting his message to the crowd gathered at the bus stop. He was well dressed, matching the afternoon
business crowd. Interestingly enough, he
returned late that night dressed in sweats.
He would get right up into a person’s face, but only reduced the decibel
level if the person in front of him engaged in conversation.
A
second preacher was stationed on a bridge over the San Antonio River, but he
seemed a bit less committed to the task.
He would stop shouting, sit down and take in the scenery when no one else
was around.
I
found a third street preacher to be the most intriguing. He was in the same place day after day on the
plaza in front of the Alamo. Using a
short wall for his pulpit, he preached to the crowds that neither stopped nor
listened. In front of him he had an
assortment of tracts. I saw no one either
take one or engage him in conversation.
Occasionally he would stop long enough to take a swig of water from a
plastic bottle.
I
do not doubt the sincerity of this man.
He preached as one who believed what he was saying. Jesus had rescued him from a misguided
past. His passion was for others to know
the fear of God, be rescued from the devil and the fires of hell, and know the
joy of salvation.
I
am guessing that this man is motivated to go out to that plaza every day
because he believes that God has called him to do so. I don’t think he will ever be discouraged by
the fact that no one is listening to him because he is doing what God has asked
him to do.
If
only his energy and passion could be directed into a more effective means of
communication. I found him to be
annoying. My moments of rest along that
wall would have been more restful had he not been shouting in my ears. The Word of God drove me away from that
spot. I cannot imagine that his message
is doing much good for the kingdom of God.
It
does make me wonder if I have ever preached a sermon that someone would have
walked away from if it were more socially acceptable. Have I preached any sermons that did not in
some small way build up the body of Christ?
Has my mode or style of communication ever been totally ineffective?
Effective
preaching has never been more difficult in the life of the church. I cannot think of any other time in our daily
routine when we are expected to passively sit and listen to what one person has
to say. Life is interactive
everywhere. Preaching styles may be
changing. I am not sure of how we will be communicating the Gospel in another
generation. But, for now, I am
encouraging pastors to take great care in their preaching. Give the task enough time and effort to do it
just as well as you can on a consistent basis.
I am also encouraging parishioners to give pastors constructive feedback
on sermons. The body of Christ will be
stronger for it.
Comments
are welcome. Go to http://niselca.blogspot.com or comment
on Facebook. --JC
"The Word of God drove me away from that spot." Be secure in the knowledge that even though that person may have been quoting the Bible and using God's name, he was not speaking the Word of God.
ReplyDeleteWe had street preachers all the time during my undergrad years at the University of Arizona - the curse of good weather. I never found one who truly gave a rip about the people to whom they were preaching or willing to sit and actually engage and invest time with someone. It was all about being able to tell God that they tried and now they were justified in shaking the dust from their feet.
Long story short (true story): when I was in seminary a classmate and I were seated on a bench along a busy street in Columbus, Ohio. A man came toward us, preaching--to the street. He stopped about where we were seated and continued preaching to the street (ignoring us). Imagine our surprise when a group of people began to gather across the street from us. They just stood there, across from the preacher, and more kept gathering. Then the bus came, the people got aboard . . . and soon the preacher wandered off.
ReplyDeleteThe Khan Academy (you can Google it) is having an impact in some educational circles. Students are asked to view a video at home as often as they need to understand the concepts. Then when they attend school they meet with teachers to apply the concepts to solve problems or use them in some way. What would happen in the church if we used this same principle? We might have small groups meet after the regular service to discuss the personal applications of the concepts in the sermon, or we might have videos of sermons or lectures available for people to view at home and then meet at church to discuss the applications. We might add one of these strategies or something similar to what we normally do to enliven the mostly passive approach of our services.
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